So you want to know how to become a travel agent in Calgary? If so, look no further. This page will provide information on the education and training requirements, duties, employment, scams and more.

Calgary is located in the foothills of Alberta's Rocky Mountains in Canada and has a population of over 1 million people. Calgary Stampede, Prince's Island Park, Calgary Tower, and Canada Olympic Park are all Calgary tourist attractions you might want to visit when in [[Canada]. A travel agent should be able to provide more information about attractions in Calgary and other locations all over the world. http://www.planetware.com/top-tourist-attractions-/calgary-cdn-ab-abc.htm http://www.calgary.ca/portal/server.pt/gateway/PTARGS_0_0_771_203_0_43/http%3B/content.calgary.ca/CCA/City+Common/Municipal+Handbook/+Welcome+to+Calgary/Facts+about+Calgary.htm

Travel websites like travelocity.com, orbitz.com, expedia.com, priceline.com, and hotwire.com enable people to reserve their own flight, hotel and car rental. The websites can be accessed right form home 24/7. Because of this travel agents have to become experts in travel. They have to be able to find cheap tickets, travel discounts, affordable hotels, cheap rental cars, low air fares and much more. They also have to know a lot about various travel destinations all over the world. Often travel agents are well traveled. It's also a good thing that they have access to vacation deals and travel discounts that are not available to the general public. Some travel agents prefer to specialize in areas such as group travel, cruise travel, honeymoons, business trips and more. It is estimated that agents who find that niche have a good future job outlook. http://career.qandas.com/jobs/what-are-the-job-duties-of-a-travel-agent.html

The following steps can be useful to people aspiring to become a travel agent in Calgary, Alberta.

SCHOOLING: To become a travel agent abroad, you will first need to gain experience as a travel agent in the country you live in. Employers in Calgary prefer hiring people with some form of travel agent training and on the job experience. The first thing you need to do is to get your high school diploma or the equivalent. This is the minimum requirement even though some people opt to go to college and get a college degree in tourism and travel.

TRAINING: For travel agent training in your neighborhood, try going to citytowninfo.com. Here you will find a listing of schools that teach classes geared towards becoming a travel agent. you can take classes in a classroom environment or right from home. There are both part time and full time studies available. The official languages in Canada are both English and French. Most of the population speaks English. If you already master the English language, you might want to take a French language course. Other beneficial classes you can take include math, computer science, world history and geography. http://www.careeroverview.com/travel-agent-careers.html http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/global-etiquette/canada.html

Aside from education and travel agent training you also need to be courteous, professional, well organized, professional and detail oriented. Also make sure you know how to use the Internet and computers because as a travel agent you will spend a lot of time researching online. http://careerplanning.about.com/od/occupations/p/travel_agent.htm

WORKING IN THE U.S.: Getting a job in Calgary as a travel agent will most likely not happen if you don't have any on the job experience. Therefore the best thing to do is to find a job at a travel agency to get some work experience. You might have to start off in an entry level position such as a receptionist or reservations clerk, but you will gain experience and learn from other travel agents by observing their day to day tasks. Over time, you might even get more duties and responsibilities which might lead to becoming a travel agent. Consider working as an intern for free if you cannot get that initial job at a travel agency. It will look good on your resume and help with future employment. The Mahalo page 'How to write a resume' can help you here. http://www.careeroverview.com/travel-agent-careers.html

WORKING IN CALGARY: The first place you should start looking for travel agent jobs in Calgary is the Internet. This will give you an idea of what the job requirements are. You will see that travel agent experience and training is required. You should also think about contacting Immigration Services to ask what the paper requirements are and how to go about getting a visa and working permit? Once you find a job in Calgary, make sure you ask if they will assist you with your move. Do they provide housing? What about work papers? If you find a job in Calgary through a job placement service such as transitionsabroad.com and jobsabroad.com you don't have to worry about all this because they take care of all the paperwork. Also keep in mind that it's important to be well traveled. The needs of customers in Calgary, might be different compared to the needs of American customers. You need to be prepared for this. http://www.jobsabroad.com/search.cfm

DUTIES: The duties for a travel agent in Calgary are similar to travel agents in the United States. Before deciding that you want to become a travel agent it is always good to know what will be expected of you. Following are some of a travel agent's tasks and duties:

• ■ A travel agent has to receive payment from the customer for the travel arrangements that were made. This can include air fare, cost of accommodation, car rental and such.
• ■ As a travel agent you also have to communicate with customers to find out what their wishes are, where they want to go, what accommodations they want, what kind of transport they need and what their budget is.
• ■ Travel agents have to calculate the cost of the travel arrangements including hotel accommodations. You have to be able to quote pricing of several travel packages to the customer so that they have a choice.
• ■ Booking the air fare, hotel, and rental car is another task of the travel agent. You do this either by phone or using your computer terminal.
• ■ Present the customer with several tour packages and vacation plans offered by various suppliers.
• ■ Brochures and publications need to be given to the customer to provide them with information about their destination. They need to know about attractions, needed vaccinations and travel documents, weather/climate in their travel destination, and local customs.
• ■ Printing tickets is another duty of a travel agent. http://www.careerplanner.com/Job-Descriptions/Travel-Agents.cfm

SCAMS: There are many travel companies out there offering job opportunities where you can work from home and sell travel. You can find plenty of them on the Internet. The advertisements might say you can work full or part time and still make lots of money. Often they glamorize the profession of the travel agent. To start working for them, all you will have to do is pay a few hundred dollars which will give you your own website to start selling travel. There are legitimate agencies that recruit people to independently sell travel for them; however, some of these advertisements are scams. They only want to take your money for something that sounds too good to be true. Make sure you are dealing with a reputable agency before getting involved. http://www.homebasedtravelagent.com/scams.htm

CALGARY TRAVEL AGENCIES: There are numerous different travel agencies in Calgary. Some target certain areas such as group travel, business travel and travel to certain locations. If you plan on working at a travel agency in Calgary it is a good idea to do some research on the existing travel agencies in the country. It will give you a good picture of what you can expect. Following is some information on several Calgary travel agencies:

• ■ Canadian Travel.com, 338 2nd Street West, Cornwall, Ontario, K6J 1G9 , Phone: 1-800-987-4628. This travel agency is currently seeking experienced travel professionals. Resumé can be emailed to info@CanadianTravel.com. http://www.canadiantravel.com/about-us/

• ■ Uniglobe Geo Travel, #14, 1208 3rd Street SE, Calgary, AB T2G 2S9, Phone: (403) 531-2400. This company has been in business over 24 years and is a full service travel agency. http://www.geo.ca/Locations.html

• ■ Trek Escapes Calgary, 336-14 Street N.W., Calgary, AB T2N 1Z7, Phone: (403) 283-6115. This travel agency was founded in 1972 and handles mainly leisure travel of the adventurous kind. http://www.trekescapes.com/about